U.S.S. ALBANY

The USS ALBANY (CG-10), an Oregon City-class heavy cruiser, was commissioned on 15 JUN 1946 as CA-123. USS ALBANY served her country for 34 years, 2 months and 14 days, until decommissioned on 29 AUG 1980. Commissioned after WW II, ALBANY served on the East Cost in the late 1940s and into the 1950s. In 1958 she was placed out of commission and commenced a four year retro-fit to become a guided missile cruiser, CG-11. Exiting the ship yard in November 1962, ALBANY began a second chapter of East Coast service, but this time with periodic deployments to the Mediterranean, Caribbean and North Atlantic until 1975. From 1976 to 1980, USS ALBANY served as the Flag Ship of the 6th Fleet and was homeported in Gaeta, Italy. ALBANY was decommissioned in August 1980 and subsequently sold for dismantling in 1990.

The USS ALBANY (CG-10) deployment history and significant events of her service career follow:

CG-10 General Specifications

Complement: 1 969 officers and enlisted

Displacement: 13700 tons

Length: 673 feet 5 inches

Beam: 70 feet 10 inches

Draft: 26 feet 4 in

Flank Speed: 32 Knots

USS ALBANY (CG-10)

The
fourth Albany (CA-123) was laid down on 6 March 1944 at Quincy, Mass., by the
Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched on 30 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth F. Pinckney; and
commissioned
on 15 June 1946 at the Boston Navy Yard, Capt. Harold A. Carlisle in command.

Following
outfitting and a shakedown cruise in the vicinity of Casco Bay, Maine, Albany
began operations along the east coast of the United States punctuated with cruises to
the West Indies. During the ensuing months, the cruiser made a number of voyages for the purpose of training naval
reservists and NROTC midshipmen. Albany continued
to perform such duty until 11 September 1948 when she stood out of Chesapeake
Bay for her first tour of duty with
the American naval forces operating in the Mediterranean Sea, recently made a permanent establishment as the 6th Fleet. That deployment set the tone for
the next decade. The cruiser
alternated five assignments to the 6th Fleet with operations along the east
coast of the United States and in the
West Indies and made three cruises to South American ports. During one of the South American voyages, Albany
carried the official United States representative to the
inauguration of the President of Brazil in January 1951.

On
30 June 1958, Albany was placed out of commission at the Boston Naval Shipyard to
begin conversion to a guided missile cruiser. On 1 November 1958, she was redesignated
CG-10. The warship
spent the next four years at Boston undergoing very extensive modifications
as part of the conversion. The ship was recommissioned at Boston on 3 November
1962, Capt. Ben B. Pickett in command. For almost five years, she again
alternated deployments
to European waters-both to the Mediterranean Sea and to the North Atlantic-with operations along the east coast and
in the West Indies. During that time, the cruiser visited many foreign ports and participated in a number of exercises with
units of friendly navies. On 1 March 1967, she was decommissioned at the Boston Naval Shipyard once again
to undergo extensive modifications. Some 20 months later, on 9 November 1968,
the guided missile cruiser was placed back in commission at Boston, Capt. Robert C. Peniston in command.

However,
the warship did not complete her rehabilitation and modernization overhaul
until the summer of 1969. On 5 July, she stood out of Boston on her way-via Yorktown, Va.,
and Norfolk, Va.-to
Mayport, Fla., her new home port. After several weeks of preparations, Albany
embarked upon her shakedown cruise to the West Indies on 15 September. On 31 October,
the guided missile cruiser returned to Mayport to begin operations with the Atlantic Fleet. Late in February 1970, Albany
embarked upon her first deployment to European waters since her modernization overhaul. During the next six years, she
made three cruises to the
Mediterranean and completed one assignment to northern European waters. On 10 August 1976, Albany put
to sea from Norfolk, bound for an
extended tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. Operating from her overseas home port at
Gaeta, Italy, she served as flagship for the Commander, 6th Fleet, for almost four years.

Relieved
of that duty at Gaeta by Puget Sound (AD-38) on 28 May 1980, the guided
missile cruiser embarked upon the voyage back to the United States on 2 June. After stops at
Mallorca, Spain,
and Lisbon, Portugal, she arrived in New York City on 20 June. From there, the
warship moved south to Hampton Roads, Va. On 29 August 1980, Albany was placed out
of commission at Norfolk, Va. She was berthed with the Norfolk Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the
Navy list on 30 June 1985. However, as of
the beginning of 1987, the ship was still there.

[Note: The above USS ALBANY (CG-10) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS ALBANY (CG-10), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]

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